Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

The Networking Effect (TNE) is an all-in-one e-tool that supports connectivity and the building of business relationships. It letsindividuals and organizations build, increase and manage their business network quickly and easily. More than just a database ofbusiness cards, TNEs goal is to go beyond services such as LinkedIn with a much stronger focus on business (and evenpersonal) interests and goals. TNE members can intelligently search for other members based on their current goals, helpingpeople find others with convergent, but not necessarily similar objectives.The TNE platform currently exists as an online web-based tool and as a mobile app. It has the ability to connect professionals andto build a directory within existing organizational websites. It allows members to find matches by doing conventional searches onmember profiles and key words (such as name, industry or company). What it lacks is a robust search capability and the ability tomake intelligent recommendations about which professionals you should connect with, and when. Through this collaborativeapplied research project, TNE will engage with Seneca College researchers to develop an advanced search functionality to beintegrated into the TNE proprietary platform. Ultimately, this will add intelligence to the search capability of the existing TNEplatform to drive better connections, something that will significantly differentiate it from other platforms on the market.